Notes / Commercial Description:
We introduced 90 Shilling, our flagship beer, at our opening party in 1989. For a while, we'd been wondering what would happen if we lightened up the traditional Scottish ale? The result is an irresistibly smooth and delicious medium-bodied amber ale.

Reviews by ZachKelly:

More User Reviews:

Thoroughly enjoyed from the 12 oz bottle in a snifter via a friend from work----Thanks Randy!

This Scottish ale pours a bright ruby amber with a modest head of off white foam that settles to a thick ring, thin pool, and very nice lacing. Nose of sweet brown sugars, mangoes, peaches, and fresh bread. Flavors exceed the nose with fruit forward notes of mangoes, peaches, and light brown sugar crusted bread on all sides that fade in the back of the taste with a very subtle herbal hop note. Surprising flavors from a Scottish. Medium mouth feel, medium carbonation, and a somewhat dry finish with a light grain note. A treat within the boundaries of the style. Solid and approachable. An excellent brew.

Really vibrant red-orange-brown color, with quick-rising bubbles and some sediment turbidity as well. Not much in the way of a bouquet—a bit of heat, dry sweet, odor of sticky pale-brown—and somewhat shallow, despite the label's claims of a "deeply pleasant aroma". Otherwise, this ale is very pleasant: in terms of texture, more of an amber with bite than a Scotch ale—but considering the stated goal of 90 Shilling was to create a lighter, brighter, more buoyant Scotch ale, I'd say this definitely succeeds. Not too sweet—a common failing of forays into this style—with good dry malt depth, excellent crispness, and a lot of barn-floor hay and turbinado-tinged malt-husk; also get notes of allspice and cumin, providing additional complexity. Not a home-run, but a stand-up double.

T: Odd floral hops and hop bitterness combines with a floral flavour to produce something not all that enjoyable. Crunchy malts lie in the background, but are swallowed by the other aspects. Artificial sweetness makes for an undesireable aftertaste.

12 oz bottle, poured into a shaker pint at approximately 40 degress F.

Appearance: Pours into the glass a hazy amber, towards the reddish-orange side of the amber hue spectrum. Forms a very thin head of almost light orange bubbles, which rapidly become a cap and ring. Held to light, one can very faintly make out a few streams of tiny bubbles heading skyward from the bottom of the glass. I admit some degree of trepidation, as I have found that I tend not to see orange in a beer unless it has a noticeable hop presence.

Smell: No, I showered today. Ba dum bump. The aroma opens with light, sweet caramel malt, wreathed through with some subtle suggestions of fruit - pear, raisin, and something citrusy. A soft grassy tone is off in the distance, like a fuzzy horizon.

Taste: Caramel malt with some vague toffee hints spills onto the tongue first, and then the 90-ton citric-herbal-earthy hoproller cruises in to crush it into nonexistence - leaving just perfume on my palate. Definitely not what I look for in a Scotch ale.

Mouthfeel: Difficult to tell around the full frontal assault on my tastebuds, if I'm being honest. I suppose it feels like a Scotch ale.

Overall: Once again, my sensitivity to hop flavors has me arching an eyebrow at anyone who has reviewed this beer as "malty" and mentioned nothing of any hop presence at all. They are literally all I get out of this beer, aside from a brief flash of caramel malt at the outset. Will not repeat.

The 90 Shilling pours from the bottle a dark red amber with a small bubbly head that quickly fades to a ring around my glass. Aromas of rich caramel and toffee meet a nice underlying bready molasses. Dark fruit and brown sugar...big maltiness. Herbal hops peek in and out as well.

First sip brings a wave of burnt caramelly maltiness with hints of bread dough and toffee. Sweet upfront with a herbal hoppiness that brings some bitterness on the way down. Dark fruitiness in the middle with a vague hint of chocolate. A nice, flavorful brew overall.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and creamy with fast moving carbonation. I wouldn't mind the carb being tuned down a little as it seems to step over the body of the brew. Overall, this is a tasty scottish ale, not one of my favorite styles but I'd say check it out if you dig the scottish ales. Thanks to babydoc for this one.

90 Shilling is a dark reddish amber color with a nice medium head. Its aroma has subtle hints of citrus and caramel. Very nice tasting with hints of fig and a good hoppy finish. It doesn't taste like a normal Scottish Ale. Overall, a very drinkable beer - one of my old reliables.

Pours a copper color with a very thin collar and wisps of head at the surface. Aroma is muted malt and a bit bready. Taste is light caramel, very lightly bitter, and some toasty malt. Light to medium body and medium carbonation lend to a decent mouthfeel.